The Weight Of A Crown: the women of the Four Kingdoms

Disclaimer: Recently, thanks an italian podcast, I have found myself discovering and the lives of extraordinary women: women, both real and fictional, who are not scared to be themselves, women who make their own revolution and change the world by breaking its rules. And I had a little silly epiphany: the women I created are everything but ordinary, everything but what their world want of them. So, I thought: would it make me an arrogant author to tribute my own characters with a post on this blog? Perhaps, my goal is not to bring a biased portrait of them though, but rather to unleash them to the world, as the women they are, with their desires and mistakes, weaknesses and beliefs. Doing so, I hope that those who read The Dawn And The Nightmare might enjoy meeting them again, and those who didn't, might wish to know them.

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Mortals or immortals, queens or goddesses, but first of all, women. The history of The Four Kingdoms revolves around them. In this world there is very little space for men, reduced to merely accessories to their plots, helpers, counselors, sometimes lovers, but always behind the scenes. Kings and gods, but with lighter crowns on their heads. Let's meet then, the women who rule this world and how much the crown they wear costed them. You know that men could never stand a chance against them since the creation of the world itself, through the work of Eire. Eire is the goddess of ice and dreams, and through her dreams the world takes shape. She is the creator, hers the hands who pull the strings of everyone's life. Eire is worshipped and feared because her dreams can be as grand as her nightmares can be destructive, and it is from her nightmare that the story begins: the human world is at war, on the edge of collapsing, lands have been spoiled and the gods's gifts abused, Eire's kindness drained into despair and hatred. Eire's heart learned to beat similar to those of the humans she used to love, she learned the hate and the seek of revenge, revenge over those who took what she gave and broke it. What could be more destructive than a betrayed woman who needs only to close her eyes to see her wishes come true? So, impulsively, Eire dreams to destroy the world, and that Nightmare takes the shape of a new god, a dark god, a sword that will fall on the human kind, freezing every breathing being to death, in a winter apocalypse. But mortals have something that gods never have: mercy. And mercy, Eire will learn too, wishing a second chance for them: the Dawnbringer, a light at the end of the wars. The dream of a hero who will destroy her Nightmare, restore peace and unite the kingdoms under one crown. Eire is the goddess of ice and dreams, but also a mother, and bringer of hope. It is her hope that will make her do the biggest sacrifice of her immortal life, it is hope that will make her believe in the Dawnbringer, one last light before darkness falls. One last heir. And the Last Heir couldn't be less than an extraordinary woman, in the most literal sense. Snow White breaks the rules of the world she is born in since the moment of her conception: born from the sterile queen Rahennon, Snow White's birth itself is a broken rule. In the world Eire created, men and women are kissed by the sun, their skin glows tanned and ebony, their hair sparkle silver and gold, but Snow White is a child of the moon: her skin is white as milk and her hair is black as raven wings. In a world with such beauty standards, Snow White's looks are both a bad and a good omen: linked to darkness and at the same time so unique to mean only greatness. For all her life Snow White will be pointed at, worshipped, hunted down, but you soon will find that there is a deeper reading of her beauty. Snow White's real beauty is within, and it's cold as the eternal winter Eire has seen in her nightmare. Broken and chaotic, this Snow White could never be the innocent, positive, passionate princess the Grimm and Disney got us used to. Sent by the gods to be a queen, Snow White will refuse the crown with all her strength while longing for the unknown beyond the horizon, fighting to be free to be herself. Herself. And what is Snow White? Well, you will have to find it out yourself through the pages of her story, but let me tell you a couple more things about her. Snow White is the proud daughter of the High King and the High Queen and pride will be her ruin, her pride will lead her to fall, to doubts, to fear and to sorrows she will never recover from, scarring her physically with unbearable pains and tears so heavy their mark will stay on her skin. To feel sorrow implies to be able to feel, and Snow White feels too much. All her feelings channel through her body, making her grow from a rebel kid to a furious queen who is able to take the world down with her as her heart gets broken. Her heart which will beat only once, but not long enough for her to taste happiness. Snow White's crown is the heaviest of all: is the crown that unite the kingdoms, the crown all royal families wished to own, a crown that bleeds. And all the losses Snow White will have to endure will never leave her, haunting her past and future until she will stand in front of a crossroad: whether to be what she is supposed to be, or what she truly is. Someone who always struggled with what Snow White truly was, was her queen mother herself, Rahennon. Rahennon, Sunshine of the West, was the most beautiful girl of the land, before Snow White was born, of course. Of humble family, Rahennon is a wet nurse whose call of taking care of children is a destiny joke on her, for she is sterile. Her kidness and selflessness though will make the greatest king fall for her, giving up to the possibility of an heir, just to not lose her. Such was her grace. Rahennon was a poor nanny in the west castle, and in the blink of an eye she was the High Queen of the blessed kingdom of Hawthorn. Talented and smart, Rahennon inspire her people, and represents those women on whom society would never bet on: too good at heart, too gentle to be someone. Yet, she will prove everyone wrong, her destiny itself, when despite all odds and all hopes lost, she will feel life growing inside her. It is when Snow White is born, that Rahennon will show her weak counterpart. Rahennon has expectations her child cannot meet, Rahennon has a grace her child cannot have. Rahennon and Snow White will find themselves as enemies, mother and daughter, fear and wildness. Fear will lead the High Queen to her destruction, meeting an end she never imagined, the fear of the unknown, of the different, everything she is forced to see in her daughter, who she barely recognizes, too strong to tame for a girl who wasn't born strong enough to bear children in first place. It could be another joke the destiny played on Rahennon: she was given everything, love, a crown, beauty, but all she wanted for real was a child, and when she had her dream come true, it turned into a nightmare. After all, you must always be careful making wishes in the dark, you may never know who listens. Amaru of Purplewood wished for the crown since she came to the world. Last child and only daughter of the royal family in the disgraced kingdom in the east, Amaru barely existed. Beautiful beyond compare, Snow White herself shook at her savage beauty, Amaru wasn't even given a decent name (author's note: Amaru is a native american male given name, meaning ''snake''), didn't receive an education, all that was expected from her was to obey and serve her older siblings when they would have become kings, maybe a safe marriage. But Amaru had bigger plans for her future, and her dreams were listened by someone in the shadows, someone who made her as powerful as a goddess, but couldn't take the human from her deepest heart. Like the cruelest Medea, Amaru frees herself from the chain of the roles society put on her and avanges her right to be queen, to be free, through poison and magic. Personally, Amaru's character has been one of the most complex and fascinating to create; drunk from the obsession of power and victory, Amaru's only weakness and desire will be her downfall too. She will be so blind by her own needs, that she will not understand what is coming for her, until it's too late, until death is the only escape. Only one woman saw what was coming for the world, and she wasn't a goddess, or a witch. Maud of Silverlake was only an intelligent woman, widow and mother and queen, but she was devoted to the gods and she could read the signs of their predictions. Maud is the portrait of strength, intellectual and moral, a guide for her people at the end of the war. She is, with Snow White, the only woman made queen without a king. Maud doesn't break the rules, she makes them, and the sacrifices she makes are all for her people and the future of her land. Mother to prince Ridvan, aka Rose, she has raised her son knowing him unfit to be king or a knight, but unlike Rahennon, Maud is capable of understanding through her stern looks, and allows him to grow more sensitive and kinder, but not less brave than any heir to a throne. You could say that Maud is the human version of Eire, both of them pull the strings of the world: one is a mistress in politics, the other the creator of fates, both their works entwine and all those involved in their plans can't escape what they have bestowed upon them, no matter the sacrifices and the sorrows in between, Eire and Maud are able to give up their biggest love in order to see the world at peace at last.

I am honored that these women, evil, weak, messed up as they could be chose me to tell their story. Hopefully, reading their life will inspire some of you, as they inspired me. Copyright for the cover picture: Daniel Vazquez (American Ghoul)